Voter ignorance and how it is perpetuated

Re “Wise up, voters,” Current, Sept. 10

Those hungry for a national discussion of our democracy’s root dysfunction are thankful for Alan Wolfe’s article. Given the multiple, complex problems the nation faces, one might expect that civic ignorance and the need to reverse it would be a subject that major news outlets would champion and trumpet daily. Why they don’t, of course, is not a mystery: No one seeking votes, ratings or profits wants to criticize potential customers. But journalism has a higher purpose, or so we hope.

JEFFREY ABELSON

Beverly Hills

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There are two points I’d like to add to Wolfe’s explanation of voter ignorance and the role of government in perpetuating it.

One is the systematic degradation of our public education system. The teaching of critical-thinking skills required to assess policy and performance have long since been tossed aside in favor of classes designed to meet the standards of mediocrity required to qualify for state and federal funding.

Two, the lack of a courageous, loyal opposition to the current representative hegemony enjoyed by the Republican Party leaves voters with little or no choice, fueling voter cynicism and apathy.

J.P. LANHAM

Los Angeles

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Leave it to a Boston professor to straighten out the masses. The state that believes America needs elites “to give ordinary Americans the benefit of the doubt” is why Democrats have such a problem getting a majority in Congress. Wolfe’s view plainly points out what most Americans already realize -- that we do not need to be told how to think or vote, and we reject that kind of elitism.

TERRY JOHNSTON

Newport Beach